US stock markets were mixed with both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones falling 0.2% overnight.
Retail sales grow, big tech gains
The Nasdaq continued its positive run, adding 0.1% as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) gained 0.4% on stronger than expected retail sales.
The result was significantly better than expected, with retail sales up 0.7% in August, turning around the expected result of a 0.7% fall. Excluding vehicle sales, growth was 1.8%. However, worrying trends are emerging as both restaurant and bar spending continues to flatline, likely holding back the recovery. And why not when it was reported overnight that one in 500 Americans have died from COVID-19.
AMC to accept Bitcoin, Cisco guides for growth
Meme stock king AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) fell 1.7% despite announcing its intention to accept Bitcoin for movie ticket purchases before Christmas.
Meanwhile, shares in Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) were flat despite forecasting revenue growth of 5-7% over the next four years.
US stock market movers
Here’s how other popular US stocks performed on Thursday.
- Duolingo (NASDAQ: DUOL) up 15.4%
- Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) up 3.4%
- Square (NYSE: SQ) up 2.5%
- Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) down 1.6%
- Newmont (NYSE: NEM) down 4.0%
- Bilibili (NASDAQ: BILI) down 4.6%
Back home on the ASX, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is heading towards a negative open on Friday. For all the latest, check out Rask Media’s ASX 200 morning report.
